The headlines in 2017 was “Iceland knows how to stop teen substance use – but the rest of the world is not listening.”

In 1997 – 40% of Iceland’s adolescents got drunk in the past 30 days, one of the highest teen alcohol problem in the world.

After a national prevention program consistent over 20 years, the trend has been reversed to just 5%.

A side effect of the program also measured decreased tobacco, cannabis, as well as decreased bulling, violence, theft, sexual abuse.

What is Iceland secret?

Inga Dora Sigfusdottir is Professor and Founding Director of the Icelandic Centre for Social Research and Analysis at Reykjavik University, and Research Professor in Health and Behavior Studies at Teachers College, Columbia University. A sociologist, her research focuses on understanding how biological and social factors interact to influence the development of risky behavior among adolescents, including substance use, suicidal behavior, unprotected sex, self-inflicted harm, and delinquency. Dr. Sigfusdottir has been the Project Director in Iceland for the European School Survey Project of Alcohol and other Drugs and for the European Cities Against Drugs Youth in Europe Project. She is currently the Principal Investigator of a life course study funded by the European Research Council which is investigating the effects of stress on biology, emotion and behavior throughout childhood.

Michelle R. Peace, Ph.D.

Forensic Toxicologist

Dr. Peace received her B.A. in Chemistry from Wittenberg University, a Master of Forensic Science from George Washington University, and her Ph.D. from the Medical College of Virginia at Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU).

Dr. Peace is a forensic toxicologist and a Full Professor in the FEPAC-accredited Department of Forensic Science at VCU and is one of the founding faculty for the Department. She served as Associate Chair and Chair for nearly a decade. Dr. Peace has also served as a manager in a private forensic drug testing laboratory and has worked as a scientist for Procter & Gamble, where she holds 3 patents.

Dr. Peace has been funded by the National Institute of Justice since 2014 to study the efficacy of electronic cigarettes, particularly as they pertain to substance use and abuse. Her research has highlighted emerging issues of electronic cigarettes as a tool for vaping drugs other than nicotine and has characterized the merging of the cannabis and e-cigarette industries. Her current project is a clinical study to assess the impact of vaping on roadside impairment evaluations for suspected DUI and drug testing.

Dr. Peace is a Past President of the Society of Forensic Toxicologists and is a member of The International Association of Forensic Toxicologists and is a Fellow in the American Academy of Forensic Sciences. She is a member of the National Safety Council’s Alcohol, Drugs, and Impairment Division. She was nationally recognized for Excellence in Teaching and Mentoring by the Society of Forensic Toxicologists.

Dr. Peace speaks regularly to train law enforcement and probation/parole officers, addiction specialists, attorneys, health system personnel, and primary and secondary education administrators on relevant issues regarding the mechanism of vaping and e-cigarettes as a tool to deliver drugs other than nicotine, as well as the effects of CBD and THC. She has provided testimony and opinions to develop scientifically relevant and robust policy and legislation at the state and federal levels, and she consults with companies and school systems as they re-develop smoking policies to include vaping.

Dr. Peace has testified to the Food and Drug Administration and the Virginia General Assembly regarding issues of quality assurance, public health, and public safety with the emerging cannabis industry. She has been featured in the New York Times, Consumer Reports, and AARP. The American Chemical Society and Discover Magazine featured her and her research in 2018 and 2019 as some of the most timely, interesting, or influential research in the nation.

Jason Graham, MD was appointed Chief Medical Examiner of New York City by Mayor Eric Adams in April 2022. In this role, he oversees investigations into deaths in New York City, and the operation of the largest public DNA laboratory in the nation. He previously served as Acting Chief Medical Examiner since December 2021 and as First Deputy Chief Medical Examiner, the second highest leadership position within OCME, since 2013.

Dr. Graham joined the Office of Chief Medical Examiner in 2006, and later served as Deputy Chief Medical Examiner for the borough of Manhattan. With a particular focus most recently on the investigation of overdose fatalities, he leads OCME’s response to the opioid epidemic in coordination with local, state and federal partners. Dr. Graham established the OCME Drug Intelligence and Intervention Group in 2016 and currently serves as Chair of the city’s RxStat Overdose Fatality Review Committee led by the OCME since summer 2021.

A native of Tennessee, Dr. Graham graduated from the University of Tennessee College of Medicine where he was inducted into the Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society. He then completed general surgery internship and anatomic pathology residency at Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta prior to subspecialty fellowship training in forensic pathology at the Emory/Fulton County Medical Examiner program. Dr. Graham is board certified by the American Board of Pathology in both anatomic and forensic pathology. He holds faculty appointment currently as Chair for the Department of Forensic Medicine at the New York University Grossman School of Medicine. Dr. Graham has published in numerous peer-reviewed scientific journals in the areas of forensic science, medicine, and pathology, and he is a member of both the American Academy of Forensic Sciences and the National Association of Medical Examiners.

Rosalie Liccardo Pacula PhD holds the Elizabeth Garrett Chair in Health Policy, Economics & Law at the Sol Price School of Public Policy, University of Southern California and is a Senior Fellow with the Leonard D. Schaeffer Center for Health Policy & Economics, where she co-directs the RAND-USC Schaeffer Opioid Policy Tools & Information Center of Excellence (OPTIC) in addition to leading numerous National Institute of Health funded studies examining the impact of federal, state and local laws on the supply, demand and access to treatment for intoxicating substances. Previously she spent 21 years at the RAND Corporation, serving as co-director of RAND’s Drug Policy Research Center for 15 of those years, working on drug policy studies for the U.S. Office of National Drug Control Policy, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, European Commission, and the U.K. Home Office. She served on NIDA’s National Advisory Council Cannabis Policy Workgroup (2017), the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA’s) technical advisory committee on preventing cannabis use among youth (2020-present), the World Health Organization’s Technical Expert Committee on Cannabis Use and Cannabis Policy (December 2019-2020), the National Academy of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine Committee on the Review of Specific Programs in the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act (2021 – present), the CDC’s National Injury Prevention’s Board of Scholarly Counsellors (2021- present), and is currently President of the International Society for the Study of Drug Policy (2019- present). Dr. Pacula is a graduate from the Santa Clara University and received her doctorate in economics from Duke University.

Dr. Roberto Olivardia is a Clinical Psychologist and Lecturer at Harvard Medical School. He maintains a private practice in Lexington, MA where he specializes in the treatment of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), Body Dysmorphic Disorder (BDD), Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, Eating Disorders and issues that face students with learning disabilities. He is on the Professional and Scientific Advisory Boards for Children and Adults with ADHD (CHADD), The Attention Deficit Disorder Association (ADDA) and ADDitude Magazine and website. He is also a Featured Expert for Understood.org. He has spoken at numerous conferences, webinars, and podcasts.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4414493/

Zulauf CA, Sprich SE, Safren SA, Wilens TE. The complicated relationship between attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder and substance use disorders. Curr Psychiatry Rep. 2014 Mar;16(3):436. doi: 10.1007/s11920-013-0436-6. PMID: 24526271; PMCID: PMC4414493.

Drugged Driving.

4/20 – the improptu national holiday for marijuana, and we want to bring about marijuana awareness. Marijuana has many side effects and health consequences, but today’s focus is on drugged driving. If you smoke weed for any reason don’t get behind the wheel for at least 4 hours. If you use edibles, wait at least 8 hours. Driving sober means no alcohol or drugs.

Lesley Phillips is an Education & Training Specialist with the Training, Research and Education for Driving Safety (TREDS) program at UC San Diego. She develops online learning programs for various health-related projects and implements marketing campaigns to expand the reach of TREDS’ traffic safety curriculum. Lesley served as a Peace Corps volunteer in West Africa after she completed her bachelor’s degree at Occidental College. This experience sparked her interest in health education and inspired her to pursue a Master of Public Health from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. Lesley has over 15 years of experience in public health and has a passion for working with people in a variety of settings.

Steer Clear Drunk and Drugged Driving Prevention Course for High School Students

How does journalism play a role in drugs and addiction?

Eve Simmons is a British writer, journalist and health and wellness editor at DailyMail.com.

She is an award-winning health journalist with a dogged determination to sniffing out fake health news – especially when it comes to diet. Formerly the deputy health editor at the Mail on Sunday in the UK, continues to work on vital and entertaining reports on her specialist subjects in the US which include mental health, disability and eating disorders. And she’s not afraid to dress up like a fool and try the latest fitness fad…for the good of journalism.

She’s written several in-depth reports on cannabis legalization – most recently covering the Bryn Spejcher manslaughter trial.

From 18 year-old who shot his girlfriend’s baby while high on marijuana to stoned babysitter who let TWO toddlers drown: we reveal how cannabis has led to nearly 300 brutal child deaths

How California’s legal cannabis dream became a public health nightmare: It’s a class B drug in the UK – but in the US state it’s led to spiralling addiction, psychotic illnesses and hospitals facing a deluge of poisonings

The brain in neuroplastic – it can be directed towards great achievement as well as disorders. Marijuana can cause synaptic reprogramming of the brain. Learn more from Dr. Kristen Gilliland who is a scientist who watched her own son’s synaptic programming, cannabis use disorder, and tra

Kristen M. Gilliland, Ph.D.

Dr. Kristen Gilliland delivered a TEDx presentation titled Rewiring Revolution: Neuroplasticity’s Impact on Wellbeing in 2018.

She earned her Ph.D. in Organic Chemistry at the University of Colorado, Boulder. She later served as an Associate Professor of Chemistry at Cal Poly State University, San Luis Obispo. During her professorship at Cal Poly, she taught Organic Chemistry, Neurochemistry, and the Chemistry of Drugs and Poisons. After Kristen’s son was diagnosed with cannabis-induced schizophrenia at the age of 17, Kristen joined the Warren Center for Neuroscience Drug Discovery at Vanderbilt University (2018) to research new treatments for schizophrenia. Tragically, Kristen lost her son to an accidental overdose in 2019 after his mental health severely declined and he became addicted to opioids and stimulants. Kristen then changed the trajectory of her life to utilize her scientific teaching, presentation, and research skills to educate adolescent-aged children and their parents on mental health challenges and how it can lead to substance use and/or substance use disorder. As the Director of Outreach and Advocacy Programs for the Warren Center, Kristen presents to middle schools, high schools, community centers, and recovery programs across Middle Tennessee. In addition, she has developed an award winning educational documentary aimed for middle school and high school-aged children titled Speaking Through Me which will be released Summer of 2023. The documentary and Kristen’s presentations focus on the developing teenage brain and neuroplasticity, the structural and functional changes that occur in the brain when under repeated stress and anxiety, the impacts of high potency cannabis on the adolescent brain, the neurobiology of addiction, and the dangers and prevalence of fentanyl. Lastly, the documentary and presentations also include methods to combat everyday stressors or adversity and the importance of self-care and self-compassion on the developing adolescent brain.